Damian Green:

I was a Remainer, but my duty as a politician is to come up with the best settlement possible

If you want an uplifting experience, I can recommend something which would have sounded extraordinary a few years ago – a tourist trip to Belfast. Over the summer recess I have been in Northern Ireland engaging business leaders and others on the need to make Brexit work, and I was struck by the number of cranes building exciting new developments, hotels and tourist attractions. What this brings home is just how much positive change can be achieved in very little time when those who were once divided put their energies into working together.

Few political debates have been as divisive as the European one. I fought as hard as I could on the Remain side, but I believe strongly that as a democrat I should respect the result, and that as a politician it is my duty to make the Brexit settlement as good as possible. This week the Government will demonstrate our determination to make a success of Brexit when the Withdrawal Bill goes before Parliament for its second reading.

This Bill ensures that the UK leaves the EU with certainty, continuity and control. It also ensures, so far as possible, that the same rules and laws will apply on the day after we leave as on the day before.

Starting the new Parliamentary session with the Withdrawal Bill shows that it is now the job of all MPs, including my former colleagues on the Stronger In campaign, to respect the will of the people and get the best possible deal for Britain. No Conservative wants a bad Brexit deal, or to do anything that increases the threat of a Corbyn Government.

It is a pragmatic Bill, and MPs must be pragmatic in realising that this is the best way to provide confidence to businesses, workers and consumers that they will not be subject to an unwanted “cliff edge” of unexpected changes on the day we leave the EU.

The Bill delivers on our promise to end the authority of EU law in the UK. It meets the demand of the majority in the referendum to take back control so that our future laws will be made in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff. We want to ensure that power sits closer to the people of the UK than ever before. The Withdrawal Bill will ensure that, whatever the outcome of the negotiations, our laws can continue to function so decisions can be taken and the withdrawal agreement implemented once it is agreed.

While the Government is working hard to ensure there are no cliff edges or gaps in the law when the UK departs the EU, the likelihood is that the Labour Party will once again look to disrupt a piece of legislation for the sake of opposing. I’ve lost count of the number of different positions Labour have tried to hold on Brexit, but their latest attempt at a never-ending transitional arrangement does not remove the need for the certainty and continuity provided by the Withdrawal Bill. Nor is the Bill a “power grab” as has been claimed by the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland. The UK Government is clear that, after we leave the EU, the governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff will have more powers and responsibilities than they have today.

Until now, these laws and regulations were imposed on an EU-wide approach across 28 member states. It meant that a common UK approach was built in by law through our membership of the EU.

We will continue to adopt a common UK approach in those areas where we believe that it will help companies, workers and individuals across all parts of the UK. Indeed, the SNP in Scotland and Labour in Wales agree that a UK approach is required in certain areas to protect the UK single market.

I find it a touch hypocritical that some who argue that we should not leave the EU single market are prepared to countenance the break-up of the UK single market, which is vitally important to the prosperity of all parts of the UK.

Indeed, Scotland’s exports to the UK are worth four times more than those to the EU. No one should be in any doubt that the intention of the UK Government is to ensure that the spirit and letter of the devolution settlement is respected in the course of the repatriation of powers.

The details of the Brexit process are difficult, and the coming months will be hard work. But no one should doubt this Government’s resolve to make real our aim of building a Britain that works for everyone. The time has come for all of us, whichever side we took at the referendum, to get behind a Bill that will deliver a key part of making Brexit work for everyone across the UK.

Damian Green is First Secretary of State READ MORE at telegraph.co.uk/opinion